agosto 21, 2017 - BMW Motorsport

Four BMW drivers in the points on Sunday at Zandvoort

Comunicato Stampa disponibile solo in lingua originale.

BMW added to its points tally again in an action-packed twelfth #dtm race of the season in Zandvoort (NED). Maxime Martin (BEL) and Timo Glock (GER) showed their fighting spirit by finishing sixth and seventh, despite being at the back of the field at the start of the race. Augusto Farfus (BRA) claimed the sixth pole position of his #dtm career in qualifying. He came home eighth in the race, while Bruno Spengler (CAN) was tenth.

Reigning #dtm champion #marcowittmann (GER) initially crossed the finish line in first place, just ahead of Mike Rockenfeller (GER, Audi). However, it was not possible to extract the minimum amount of remaining fuel from his car’s tank during the technical inspection. Wittmann was consequently disqualified. Tom Blomqvist (GBR) finished 13th.

The qualifying session:

It is almost two years since Augusto Farfus last started a #dtm race from pole position. The #bmw Team RMG driver has now returned to the front of the grid. He clocked the fastest lap time of 1:27.475 in his Shell #bmw M4 #dtm, 0.141 seconds faster than #marcowittmann, who also started from the front row in the Red Bull #bmw M4 #dtm. This was the sixth pole position of Farfus’ #dtm career. Maxime Martin started from third place in the SAMSUNG #bmw M4 #dtm. Timo Glock (DEUTSCHE POST #bmw M4 DTM) set the fifth fastest time, but was held up by Edoardo Mortara (ITA, Mercedes) on his final flying lap. As a consequence of the ensuing dispute between the two drivers, Glock was later disqualified and had to start the race from the back of the grid. Bruno Spengler (BMW Bank M4 DTM) and Tom Blomqvist (BMW Driving Experience M4 DTM) qualified ninth and 14th, but were promoted two places due to the penalties awarded to Glock and Gary Paffett (GBR, Mercedes).

The race:

Tom Blomqvist had to start from the pit lane after spinning on the formation lap. A short while later, he was given a drive-through penalty for crossing the track limits and consequently dropped well back. #marcowittmann made the better start of the two BMWs on the front row, passing Augusto Farfus to take the lead. Maxime Martin did not initially get off the line, but was then able to get going but was then at the back of the field. Bruno Spengler made a false start, for which he was given a five-second penalty. At the head of the field, Wittmann was able to pull a few seconds clear of Mike Rockenfeller (GER, Audi), and maintained his lead after making his mandatory pit stop on lap 14. The two-time champion had to fend off Rockenfeller for the final 15 minutes of the race, but held his nerve to cross the finish line in first place. Martin and Timo Glock fought back strongly after making early pit stops, and eventually finish seventh and eighth. Farfus also picked up points for ninth place. Spengler and Blomqvist came home eleventh and 13th. All the other #bmw drivers, however, are promoted a position following the subsequent disqualification of Wittmann.

The reactions:

BMW Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt: “On the whole, we have scored a lot of points in Zandvoort. The one-two-three on Saturday, with Timo Glock, #marcowittmann and Maxime Martin on the podium, was one of the absolute highlights of the season. Unfortunately, Marco Wittmann’s disqualification on Sunday prevented us from adding a second victory. That is obviously a great shame. We will look into how it could have happened. Maxime Martin and Timo Glock fought very hard in the race, and Augusto Farfus and Bruno Spengler also picked up points. Hard-fought overtaking manoeuvres, plenty of action and a lot of points: despite the disappointment of missing out on victory on Sunday, Zandvoort was definitely worth the trip again for us this year.”

Stefan Reinhold (Team Principal, #bmw Team RMG): “It has been an intense weekend for us, full of emotion. First, we celebrated Marco’s victory, then came the disappointment of the disqualification. Unfortunately, when analysing the race, we discovered that we had made a mistake in operating the tank system, which resulted in there being too little fuel in the tank at the end of the race. That is frustrating, but we win and lose together. The pole position was good for Augusto. Timo also showed his emotion – but emotions are what win us races here in this team, so we will continue to show them. Despite today, we are confident looking ahead to the rest of the season.”

Marco Wittmann (#11, Red Bull #bmw M4 #dtm – Grid position: 2nd place, race result: Disqualified – 68 races, 8 wins, 18 podiums, 8 pole positions, 614 points, 2 drivers’ titles): “I am obviously very disappointed, but as a driver there is nothing you can do about it. We have to accept it and ensure that nothing like this happens again. It was still a mega weekend for me. Our pace was very good. We will push again at the Nürburgring.”

Augusto Farfus (#15, Shell #bmw M4 #dtm – Grid position: 1st place, race result: 8th place – 78 races, 4 wins, 12 podiums, 6 pole positions, 368 points): “We pitted after the opening lap, but unfortunately it did not pay off. However, that is #racing. Despite that, I can take some positives from Zandvoort. We had the fastest car and secured pole position. That is good. However, we did not manage to take our chance and finish on the podium.”

Timo Glock (#16, DEUTSCHE POST #bmw M4 #dtm – Grid position: 18th place (penalty), race result: 7th place – 68 races, 4 wins, 8 podiums, 3 pole positions, 317 points): “I had a good first lap and immediately overtook one or two cars. I then came into the pits early, after which I had good pace. I was quicker than Maxime, but could not get past him. However, we must be content with having at least finished in the top ten.”

Bart Mampaey (Team Principal, #bmw Team RBM): “We have a few things to look at after this race. Maxime did not get away at the start. We must now analyse the data to find out what happened. That affected his entire race. However, he still managed to fight back and finish seventh. That was as much as we could have hoped for. Bruno made a false start, and we must take a close look at what happened to Tom. He spun on the warm-up lap, but we don’t know why yet.”

Bruno Spengler (#7, #bmw Bank #bmw M4 #dtm – Grid position: 7th place, race result: 10th place – 151 races, 15 wins, 48 podiums, 18 pole positions, 820 points, 1 drivers’ title): “On the whole, it was a good weekend for #bmw. It is a shame that we did not manage to set the car up perfectly for qualifying. After that, there was nothing we could do in the race. We are now focussing on the Nürburgring.”

Tom Blomqvist (#31, #bmw Driving Experience M4 #dtm – Grid position: 12thplace, race result: 13th place – 48 races, 1 win, 5 podiums, 2 pole positions, 193 points): “Unfortunately, I lost control of the car during the formation lap and hit something. That caused the driver’s door to come loose, so I had to come into the pit lane and start from there. On top of that, I was given a drive-through penalty. It was simply a race to forget.”

Maxime Martin (#36, SAMSUNG #bmw M4 #dtm – Grid position: 3rd place, race result: 6th place – 58 races, 3 wins, 10 podiums, 3 pole positions, 333 points): “It was a tough race. I stalled the car at the start. I don’t know why it happened, as everything was how it always is. It is obviously difficult to come through from last place. We still managed to pick up some points, which made it okay.”

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